


Seoul Eater

by Bundlino



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Academy, Action, Action/Adventure, Adults, Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Based off Soul Eater anime, Blood, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Canon-Typical Violence, Demon Hunters, Doppelganger, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Romance, Fantasy, Food, Gods, Halloween, Identity Reveal, M/M, Magic, Meisters, Mystery, Professors, Pumpkins, Romance, School, Secret Identity, Soul Bond, Soul Eater References, Souls, Twins, Urban Fantasy, Violence, Weapons, Witches, Zombies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:07:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26750365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bundlino/pseuds/Bundlino
Summary: As a new Meister, Lee Minho teams up with a Demon Weapon partner, Chan, in order for him to become the ultimate Death Weapon — to help their Headmaster's aim in restoring balance to the world.Yet somehow, a strange force seems to be lurking in the shadow that is hellbent on stopping them.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 12
Kudos: 28





	1. 99!!

**Author's Note:**

> this is a fic based off Soul Eater, which is one of my favorite anime! the show is very halloween themed and i wanted to do something for minchantober so here it is~  
> a few things i wanted to get out of the way:  
> \- it's probably better if you've seen at least one episode of this anime, so you can at least get a feel for the atmosphere  
> \- but if not that's okay because i can just show you images like how the [sun](https://i.imgur.com/5wVFGMy.gif) looks, how the [moon](https://i.imgur.com/MlyB2ep.jpg) looks, what [chan's](https://i.imgur.com/m3SDd4X.jpg) [character](https://i.imgur.com/AoO848t.jpg) [design](https://i.imgur.com/R8xtb86.jpg) is [based](https://i.imgur.com/sEPuonS.jpg) [off](https://i.imgur.com/GMPZ02X.jpg) of, how the souls look [here](https://i.imgur.com/bF9BtRG.jpg) and [here](https://i.imgur.com/1qGVVkZ.jpg), the characters i will introduce are from the show/based off it, etc.  
> \- also this story is heavily based on the actual plot of the anime, but i do change it around a lot and make it my own in a way

🎃🎃🎃

_"A sound soul.._  
_dwells within a sound mind.._  
_and a sound body."_

This is the Death Weapon Meister Academy's motto, one of the important criteria to becoming an efficient and well-regarded student.

Minho lives in Death City. To make things more difficult he's only a one-star Meister, one of the lower ranking fighters at the DWMA. He'd never been sent out on world-saving missions by Lord Death, such as with his upper classmen. Maybe he and his partner collected an evil soul here or there. Chan is his weapon of choice, a scythe known as a Demon Weapon with its black blade and reddened inner curve. 

They didn't always get along. 

Despite their bickering and constant one-upping upon first meeting one another, their Soul Wavelength proved to be a good match. Whether they admitted to it or not. Compatibility between both Meister and Weapon always depended on their bond. It's a good thing their initial bare-minimum acquaintanceship turned around for the better somewhat, considering rejection of another's Soul Wavelength could lead to injuries — even death in the most extreme cases. 

No matter the time at night in the darkened purple sky, the yellow moon above always maintained its crescent shape, only ever showing its facial side profile. Its toothy grin usually flashes, though it feels more like it does so to continuously snicker at Minho's miscalculations. Its wandering eye, in place of the big asteroid crater on its face, peers below to take in the scene unfolding in real time, most reasonably mocking Minho's every movement. 

Ever since anyone could remember, the moon has had a mind of its own, and it is deliciously aware of the forthcoming danger. The crescent that soars above all other beings grins wider at this knowledge.

Minho and Chan are on night patrol, scouting out the empty shopping district streets. Giving each other the silent treatment. Again.

It's been a couple hours. They're both tired and a bit irritable. 

"We should call it a night," Chan spat, disinterested with the time they are wasting. 

"Technically we still need to patrol for twenty more minutes, then we can go back to the dorm."

Chan scowled at him with his silver sharp eyes, though the other wasn't paying him any mind. When it came to Chan's nightly patrols and fighting in general, he normally wore his white headband that stretched horizontally around his head, just directly under his silver hair at the front that was swept to a side. On its left side, he had pressed a big blue sticker with the black bolded letters writing out _Soul_ , and another large white skull sticker on its right side many years ago when he was younger. 

Legend has it that an army of skeletons drove away chaos from the land in an epic battle.

He thought it was cool.

Along with his headband, Chan also wore his black-white jacket and blue jeans.

In contrast, Minho's raven hair swept style exposes part of his forehead, usually going with a white button-up shirt rolled up to his forearms along with a set of black pants, finished off with a dark tie.

Chan mumbles so his partner can't hear, "Goody two shoes."

"Nineteen minutes," he corrects as he peers into some display windows, looking for anything out of the ordinary. 

At the same time, the reflection had given him a clear view of the nearby old-wooden clock tower, which stands above most other places. Luckily all the buildings have small fires on their orange-brown brick exterior walls to light up the pathways, so it makes it easier.

He mocked Minho when he wasn't looking, mouthing _nineteen minutes_ just to be spiteful.

"The patroling is only temporary anyway. We've been at it for days, so it's just a matter of time in finding our target," Minho layers his tone optimistically, yet there's a hint of defeat in it. "A tip of a sighting — apparently some vicious creature — that only comes out at night surfaced out of no where. We have no description of the culprit to go off of. I just hope the anonymous source wasn't lying." He furrows his brows, rethinking his words. "But in a way if it's true, that's bad, because that means people were hurt. So maybe it's better if this whole thing wasn't true at all."

"I doubt it's a lie," a bitter sigh escapes his lips, borderline passive aggressive. "There's been casualties, minor injuries. Visible proof. So once we defeat it we'll be one step closer."

The two turned a corner. And just like the rest, this road is also perfectly fine. Empty vendor stalls. A large fountain in the middle that the children usually play around while the adults sit on during the day. But as of this late, no one is in sight. 

"Guess so. We can take pride in at least making the city a little safer."

Suddenly Chan stops walking, turning his head carefully in multiple directions. He's tense. He's on high alert, and it scares Minho a bit.

"What's wrong?"

Chan gestures for him to stay quiet. Minho looks around, trying to find anything. And then Chan whispers, "Do you hear that?"

Minho didn't hear anything, now being just as tense but ready. "Where?" he mouths quietly.

A scream of a woman echoes nearby, like she's on the brink of death, "Help me! Please! He's trying to kill me!" Panic ensues. 

They quickly run further ahead to the voice calling for help, passing multiple stores rapidly and coming to a small three-way intersection, discovering the back of a silver Demon in a dimly-lit alleyway from the candle wall sconces. The creature had lengthy black hair running down over its shoulders. As it slowly turned around, it revealed its deep abysmal eyes and sharp teeth, smiling crookedly. 

An intense fear came over Chan as he took one step back, only able to muster out a whisper. "You need to run. Now."

"We can't, we need to help the person—"

"No!" Chan immediately extended out an arm in the way of Minho's path before he could walk towards it. His own hand started to visibly shake, with muscle tension swallowing over his body. "It's a banshee type," he analyzed. "There is no person to save. It mimics the sounds of tortured souls to lure in its targets."

Minho snapped his head back to the Demon, inspecting it more thoroughly. Now the moon must have been directly snickering at him, like if Minho was some fool.

From ear to ear, the banshee's scary smile suddenly started to open, letting its long red tongue roll down. It has a frail-looking body. But that's most likely misleading as well. Coming out from its throat in visible white waves is a piercing shriek, a cry for help, the same one they heard right before. 

This banshee is despicable. 

Shivers ran down Minho's spine. Its voice sounded exactly like a civilian's. Neither of them had ever come face to face with a banshee before. Only ever hearing of its existence in class. They were known to be particularly hard to defeat due to their emotional manipulation abilities. Banshees seemed so real, so human-like, and in pain. Yet Minho knew better, it was only here to kill. They're cunning, and they haunt. The professors drilled it into them.

No mercy.

Cocking its head to a side, the Demon snapped its mouth back shut, returning to its devious smile. It stepped forward on its narrow legs and slightly bent its knees, triggering its battle stance.

Chan grit his teeth, thinking fast by shoving Minho backwards hard, letting his own body start to turn a quick glowing white, halfway shape-shifting into his most vulnerable yet most powerful state, a scythe. "Catch me, Minho!"

The scythe transformation completed, spinning numerous times up in the air.

One second the banshee was several units away. In the next moment it stomped its foot down on the cobblestone road, shattering it into rubble and lunging itself forward at exhilarating speed. 

The Meister's life would have flashed before his own eyes had Chan not given him the extra distance to separate away from the monster slightly more. Minho stumbled on his legs to gain his footing in that split moment of Chan's shove, reaching out for the scythe just as the banshee's claws homed in closer towards his face.

Mere inches apart from ripping at flesh, Minho caught the weapon firmly in his hands and swung.

The collision of finger claws against blade sparked, sending both the Meister and the Demon back in recoil. Minho twirled on his heel to regain his posture. Shockingly, the enemy had the same idea as it hopped up on one foot during the kickback, thereby correcting its landing. 

Before Minho could process, it sprang forward again, dealing a strong blow against the scythe and managing to actually push him far enough out of the alley into the wide empty cobblestone shopping streets of Death City. The creature's agility proves to be relentless, as it attacked him over and over in persistent succession, pushing him farther and farther while the Meister struggles to stand his ground. 

Claws zeroed in on him left and right in a raging frenzy, with him barely managing to block each one just in time. A strike came from below his knees, to above his head, to the side of his rib cage. Each time, sending both fighters aback in a push of clashes.

The banshee wailed in agony, sounding as if a human were inside it somewhere, momentarily throwing the Meister off his game at the realistic trick. It rushed forward, one of its claw hands _actually_ growing in double the size. 

Minho panicked, spinning the scythe rapidly in a hasty turbine self defense move. 

Upon impact the blow became too devastating to withstand as it completely hurled the Meister off his feet, sending him crashing against a building's tall brick wall and hurting his head a bit. Minho grunted in pain as he slid down the wall, coming to a kneel but still holding onto the scythe tightly right in front of him on its pole. 

"Are you okay! Can you stand!?" the Weapon yelled to him.

He winced slightly, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm fine. Nothing to it," he exhaled deeply to calm his nerves down and also partially from the sharp ache. "I think we're slowly chipping away at the Demon's stamina."

On the contrary, from a distance, the Demon's other hand is now doubling in size. It now has a full set of sharpened claws. 

Chan started yelling again from inside his scythe form, "Chipping away, huh? Does that look like chipping away to you!?"

"Relax, I got it. I know what I'm doing," Minho said while standing back right up. 

It's now the Meister's turn to go on the attack. Before he could give the creature enough time to make the move, Minho dashed at it first. He gave a powerful sharp swing, giving it his all, that would have directly crossed against the banshee's chest, but the monster dodged by bouncing high into the air. 

In a matter of a split moment, the Demon came plunging back down from gravity, aiming right for Minho in marked precision. 

The Meister, however, is also known to be light on his feet. He backflipped in a half rotation to an upside down position, using one hand to steady himself off the ground and then propel his body fully out of the way, coming to a graceful step on the cobblestones again.

When the Demon crashed down, it broke through outer layer of road, sending debris flying and raising large puffs of thick dirt into the air.

"Minho, careful!" the Weapon warned. 

Coming out of the dirt smokescreen, the monster's claws swiped sideways in a large movement, one so big enough to strike at half of Minho's body in an instant.

He saw it coming, just barely avoiding it quickly by ducking. If he hadn't dodged, that could have cost him. In retaliation, he drove the blunt top of the scythe forward from his low position and jabbed directly at the banshee's stomach.

It screamed in pain, piercing his ears like fingernails against chalkboard. He noticed the tips of its finger claws gradually reduced in length due to the hit. 

"Keep going, Minho!"

No need to tell him twice. Minho twirled the scythe to reposition and aimed to slash at the creature's neck. 

However, it jumped over him, missing completely as the Demon landed behind him. It was faster than Minho, starting to pick up on his moves, and it was annoying.

Minho instinctively turned around to cut once more, but the Demon blocked it to a halt with the one large remaining hand claw. With its other hand in support, the creature now started to use both to push back against the human. Minho's feet slid against rocky road, pressing him further along towards another building wall where it could potentially pin him and finish him off. He bent his legs and dug his heels in, planting his body down further to cement his place. This was able to break the momentum and lock the weapons in an increasingly noticeable stalemate, with the Meister's and Demon's endurance wavering slightly in this tug of war. A constant push and pull. Their blades remain rigid in their skirmish, and it continued to take every ounce of strength from Minho to just hold his place there. 

The beast snarled, opening its creepy grin once more. It felt like the creature was enjoying this.

On the spot, Minho's eyes widened in distress due to the impending ruse at such close range. This wouldn't affect Chan as he is in his scythe form, but Minho...

Ripping deceitfully from the Demon's throat, a harsh screech of a human's painful bawling echoed throughout the block. As if it were a previous soul's last moments. The sorrowful noise hit deeply at Minho's heart, sending his skin crawling and stomach in twisted knots. Tears started to form at the corners, dripping down his cheeks as he sluggishly continued to keep up the fight. 

The creature enjoyed the Meister's half-conscious state as it stepped forward, starting to overpower Minho and win its twisted game.

Chan screamed for his name, over and over, but it was no use.

Minho felt weak. His body felt tired. His mind started to fog up. The wall behind him felt like it was being drawn to him, inching closer to come into contact, rather than him being forced towards it. It felt nice, actually. Like if the decision is being made for him without much effort. Like if he were shoved down a bottomless cliff, and his entire being had dove into a sea of soft clouds. What was fake and what was reality messily intertwined in his head to form an incoherent clutter, and he slowly let go, letting it all fade to black. 

_It's nice._

_Relaxing._

It's soothing to not fight anymore, and to take a moment to breathe. In the abyss of darkness.

But then a faint call of familiarity pestered at his ears. 

_What is that?_ he asked himself. 

It came again. Like a buzzing. Annoyingly poking at him. Not stopping.

_Who could it be?_

He started to take small steps in the abyss. Walking closer towards the voice. It was getting clearer. More loud. And louder.

_It sounds like..._

Minho couldn't quite place his finger on it. It's at the tip of his tongue. The idea forms in his mind, and his eyebrows slowly raise in murky judgement. A fleeting warmness bubbles in his chest, one that he is sure he knows. He widens his lips apart, letting the word sink in. 

_...home?_

Chan's words then suddenly resonated through his body, like the beacon of light guiding him through the darkness, "Don't listen to the banshee's Soul Wavelength anymore! Minho!"

It shook him to his core. He snapped out of the trance, opening his eyes back to the real world. He still had a chance. 

They were never real; the Demon's human voices. They aren't real.

All this time he had been letting it toy with him, letting it decide the tempo. Instead of playing by its game, Minho chose his own path. 

"Do you trust me, Chan?" he clenched his jaw and stomped down hard to further prevent the creature from pushing him around, their little tug of war game still active. 

"You make it sound like I have to," he bluntly answered from within the Weapon. 

"Good," Minho said. "Don't yell at me later."

Before Chan could respond, the inevitable happened in order to get them out of that situation. 

He let go of the Weapon, letting loose his grip on the scythe's pole. 

In that split second, the Weapon started to fall. This surprised the Demon as Minho had thrown it off its balance, its forceful push leading it to stumble forward. 

Minho speedily thrusted his palm at the Demon's chest, chanting his next attack, _"Soul Shock!"_

Electric dark blues of lightning shot out from his hand, exploding on contact. 

The creature was blown away, soaring high into the air and landing in the center water fountain of the shopping street with a loud splatter. Its claws all reduced back to its original short length. If he needed to end it, he needed to do it now.

"We need to finish this!" the Meister yelled as he picked Chan back up, leaping greatly off the ground and aiming right for the Demon. 

Minho readied the scythe mid-air, bringing it back behind his shoulder so he can fully swing his—

Except when he was about to make landfall and hit, the Demon powerfully kicked, splashing water about. Minho's reckless attack had left him wide open. The kick hit dead-center on his stomach, knocking the air out of him and sending him flying as he grunted, then slamming through the clock tower's top floor. 

When Minho broke through the wood, he also broke through the stacks of wooden boxes piled everywhere that was used for storage, tumbling across the floor and coming to a stop.

He groaned out, "...Or not."

Chan swiftly transformed into his human form, kneeling directly next to Minho. "Can you get up? How are you feeling?" 

"Just dandy," he chuckled jokingly, though still not moving from his laying position. 

Letting out a sigh, Chan stated the obvious. "You're bleeding."

It was literally just a scratch. "It'll heal."

Chan frowned at him, disappointed. 

"Oh don't give me that look. I got my ass kicked because I'm bad, yeah. But you're looking worse," Minho laughed dryly, pointing at something on Chan's face. "As a Weapon, you get hurt a lot more. Far more," he genuinely stated. 

Little did Chan know, his own forehead was bleeding from the constant battling in his Weapon form. One of a Weapon's abilities is rerouting their Meister's physical damage taken back to the Weapon, making the Meisters more sturdy than they'd originally be. A Weapon is always supposed to take majority of the hits as they are more durable in their full transformation state. 

"That's the point," Chan glared frustratingly. "I'm your Weapon. Weapons are supposed to protect their Meisters, no matter how lacking they are," he gets up. "That's one of our purposes. Your purpose is to get out there and win the fight."

"Why don't you let it all out? Tell me how you really feel," Minho sarcastically counters back.

"What you're doing isn't working, just to let you know," Chan spoke honestly, even if it's insensitive. "You're also pretty reckless, you need to think of all your possible moves ahead of time."

Okay, maybe Minho did need to hear it.

Getting advice, or getting scolded. It felt the same.

After helping Minho up, Chan patted off the dust on his jacket. 

"You're so close in upgrading to a Death Weapon," Minho thought out loud. "I just need to focus."

"Just one more Demon's soul, then a Witch's." This was the remaining path for Chan to become a Death Weapon. 

"And then that's the end. Of our partnership."

"If we even get that far," again, he spoke the hard truth. 

Minho nodded.

Chan shape-shifts back into his scythe form, which spins as it's tossed into the air by itself, and Minho catches it. He walks over towards the Minho-sized hole in the wall at the end of the room and pokes his head outside. It's definitely a long way down. He must be so elevated so high. Minho glances at the purple night above, spotting the moon more easily from up here on the clock tower. 

The moon, of course, is still grinning creepily. But now something of dark red liquid is oozing between its teeth. Blood.

Why must it mock his mistakes and do that creepy thing. Minho rolls his eyes. 

This was not anything new. Once a fight is about to start, the moon breathes heavily in anticipation. When someone makes a mistake during a conflict, the moon laughs at them. When blood is shed in battle, the moon can't help but to follow suit and taste it from afar. 

The moon... is the embodiment of everything evil.

Minho looks below once more, spotting the silver Demon waiting for him as it taunts with its toothy grin. For some reason, that did piss the Meister off. 

He jumps with all his might and heads straight for the creature. 

As expected the Demon is calculating, as shown by its deflection of Minho's attack with its claws. 

However, Minho is one step ahead. He's not going to let himself be so open to a counter attack again. Right after it blocked the Weapon hit, he slammed the scythe down to the ground, spinning himself in full circle on its axis and follows up with a heavy kick to the jaw, leading to some parts of the Demon's teeth chipping off. In a fast consecutive hit, Minho twirls to his feet on the ground, slicing up at the beast's skin. 

It chops the Demon's arm clean off, and the silver creature screams in its normal indecipherable voice. 

Using that window of opportunity, Minho darts forward and brings the scythe deeply across the enemy's shoulder diagonally all the way across its chest to end at its hip. It screamed no more. 

The Demon's body started to cave in on itself, its limbs disintegrating and being sucked inward, wrapping around its small core like literal ribbons of magic.

What remained from the kill is a floating red orb of light — its core — the ghostly trails rising off the top of its figure like a will-o-wisp. 

"The 99th Demon's soul," Chan's head, arms, and naked torso emerged out from the blade of the scythe, appearing in his half-Weapon yet half-human form. For some odd reason, clothes disappear when Weapons transform. The shirtless part is to be unsurprising as he technically _is_ in his vulnerable state, somewhat. Nevermind the bloody forehead dripping, down from his silver hair. "Finally," he says excitedly, dimples showing. 

It's rare when he smiles. Though when it comes to collecting souls, Minho figures this would make him happy as Chan is closer to the goal. His whole purpose.

"Took us long enough," Minho admits.

Chan reaches out and grabs the Demon soul with his bare hand. He takes his time to guide it back towards his face, eyeing it rather closely, more than likely savoring the moment. His last moment in collecting a Demon soul. They have finally reached the end. The stepping stone to becoming a Death Weapon. This will be beneficial to both him and Minho in the future. Chan can obtain his new form that is so close within his reach, and they both can get promoted. Maybe Minho can skip the two-star Meister thing and skip right to three-star. It only went up to four, either way.

Minho watches rather amusingly, not saying a word, but instead bathing in their past accomplishments and new milestone. Everything has come to this point. 

He just needs to eat it, and the next big obstacle will be their last hurdle.

Chan pinches the ghostly wisp by its tail, dropping the red soul into his mouth. No chewing necessary, as once he's done his pupils are shining brightly. "Minho, thank you for the good meal." He always gets like this. It's so out of character. So.. strange.

And so rare.

First, Chan's body heals itself after the energy replenishment. Blood and scratches and wounds now start disappearing off the both of him and Minho — since technically they are connected through a partnership's smallest Soul Wavelength. A single Wavelength, actually. One that was so bare minimum that they might as well not be connected at all. In the next moment, Chan burps, visibly rubbing his stomach happily. He's definitely satisfied with his dinner. 

"I've always wondered what those tasted like," Minho randomly ponders. 

"Hard to explain," Chan shape-shifts entirely into human form, now standing fully clothed next to Minho, "it's pretty good, though."

It looks good.

"One thing left now," Chan throws a thumb to his own chest cockily, "I've got to eat the soul of a Witch."

Easier said than done.

"Yeah, you're cool, or whatever," Minho sarcastically spouts. "We should report to Lord Death and let him know," he reasons.

"What about all the mess we caused?" Chan looks around, grimacing at the splinters of wood now on the street and the broken chunks of other objects everywhere.

Minho waved that off, "Lord Death will take care of it in the morning," he says before gradually embarking off to a near shop. "If he's awake, that is."

Chan follows close behind, "You still remember it?"

"Of course," Minho stops right in front of a local building's front window, huffing out a breath on the surface to fog it up purposefully. He starts to write on it with an index finger, having a clear intention and humming along to the tune of a melody in his head, "42-42-564, whenever you want to knock on Death's door~" goes the jingle.

Almost instantly, the shop's window starts to dully ring like a magical communication device, sending blue waves of light across its surface like ripple effects. After a few more rings, the window shines a blinding white light. 

"Hello, Lord Death, are you there?" Minho tested it out. "Meister Lee Minho, reporting."

Suddenly, the white light begins to fade. Chan and Minho smile as the person comes into fruition. 

"Ah!" A man in what appears to be grim reaper robes appears, hiding his face behind a comical skull mask. "Minho, Chan! How are you all doing~ I assume you're calling for a reason. How did it go?"

"We've just collected the 99th Demon soul, with some luck," Minho reveals, "now we just have one Witch soul to collect and we'll be done, right?"

The grim reaper hums, clearly pleased. "Well done, you two! You're proving to become excellent Meister and Weapon! Only time will tell."

Minho lit up at the compliment. 

Chan rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Thank you, Headmaster. Where are you calling from, by the way?"

"Oh, why the Death Room at the Academy of course. I'm calling you from my magic mirror," the masked man moves his giant mirror around the room, showing its interior sky-blue painted walls and magical wisps of clouds floating about, probably from some of Lord Death's power. Or maybe a type of magic. No one really ever bothers to ask. Contrary to the Death Room's name, it looked quite cozy.

"We need information on a Witch," Minho tells him, getting straight to the point. "Have you heard of any near Death City? Or picked up on any?"

"I believe so. As I'm sure you're all aware," Lord Death explains, "if a Meister and Weapon pair collect 99 evil souls — souls that have strayed and become Demon eggs — and additionally collect the soul of one Witch, then the Weapon will obtain the qualifications necessary to become a Death Scythe. One of my instruments."

They both nod, listening closely.

"But it's that last soul that's a bit tricky," their Headmaster attempts to finish off. "You've made it this far. But you should note that there are countless Meisters who have lost their lives when they have challenged a Witch. You'll need to be very careful, Minho. Chan can only shield you so much. And Chan, you need to be more proactive in your teamwork. Don't think for a second that I don't monitor you. I have eyes and ears all over this city at most times."

They both gulp.

"But if you two are lucky, then maybe the Death Scythe you create will be very powerful indeed."

"Right," Minho eagerly nods. 

"Also, please do be sure not to make any mistakes," Lord Death warns. "This last collection — the Witch's soul — is very important. If you get your math wrong or slip up, it can possibly taint the 99 Demon souls you have collected thus far, and they will all be confiscated as a result. Do you understand?"

"We understand," Minho agrees.

Chan adds on, "We'll make a clean job of it! No worries."

"In that case, I did overhear of a Witch that lives in the Pumpkin Forest some ways off. Good luck! I'll see you two later!" the call abruptly ends. Lord Death did always have an awkward goodbye.

The window returns to normal, and they're looking at their reflections once again. 

This is exciting. And scary. Minho doesn't know the right way to feel. 

Chan slaps him on the back with medium strength, but he's also excited. "Come on. I know how to get there. The sooner we do this, the sooner we can go our separate ways."


	2. Pumpkin Halloween Cannon!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ** okay i finally fixed the mistakes in this chapter sldkjsfj so it should read fine now

On the outskirts of Death City is a dark and twisted place, with little illumination to light the way and hardly any life to speak of.

The Pumpkin Forest's trees have all withered long ago, becoming hollow bark of their former selves, only having the faintest of yellow glow bugs floating in the creepy winds. There's something off about it here that gnaws at Minho, though he can't quite put his finger on it.

To his left shoulder, Chan has been too busy semi-marching away, following the dirt pathway, but with a big smile on his face in anticipation. It only makes sense. His Weapon partner has probably been looking forward to this moment his whole life. Even so, Minho wonders what will become of himself. Chan's life seems to be all figured out already. Minho will either skip some mandatory classes and graduate early, or he'll be paired with another new partner for the remainder of the years. Either way, he'll get promoted.

And then from there... nothing.

Not a single thought is able to be conjured up. Only a vague future with plenty of uncertainty and dangers that still haunt him in his sleep, as well as lots of unanswered questions about his past. With mysteries that may never be solved in the foreseeable future.

When he first arrived on that city bus that practically dumped him off at the DWMA's staircase, he had no idea what to expect. Only an empty promise, from a secretive note left at his apartment doorstep. He had no idea how rigorous, or how stressful the training would be. To turn him into an acceptable killing machine — what he is today. But that did not come without its trials and pain. What awaited him when he first began just seemed to be an endless cycle of hardship and guilt.

Guilt, for letting people down. 

Whenever he looks at his professors, he feels bad. Because of how their dedicated teaching sessions seemed to fall short on him. Especially when, at first glance, he couldn't even figure out the type of Demon he just killed earlier. With its alluring wails. He's able to answer correctly on paper, but when it comes to the real stuff... not so much. His mind gets too jumbled in the adrenaline of the moment.

Whenever he looks at the Headmaster, the lingering feeling of guilt is also there. After basically taking Minho under his wing and providing him a new home, yet the Meister cannot seem to understand why someone would do such a thing. It feels as if Minho cannot repay that kindness, no matter what he does. No matter what he achieves. Because what kind of price would one have to pay in order to compensate?

Whenever he looks at Seungmin, it's hard to explain. Seungmin was the first Meister he met at the DWMA. And his first friend he made. Yet all the extra practice in the world that he taught Minho may have very well been in vain. Minho still feels lackluster as a Meister, and for that, he is a little apologetic. 

Lastly, Chan...

Whenever he looks at Chan, he draws a blank. There isn't anything to say. Or maybe there isn't a correct thing to say. It's painful, definitely. He tries not to think about it too much. Because if there's even the slightest chance that Minho caused _that_ incident, then...

As usual, he tries not to ponder these gloomy notions. The life of a Meister and Weapon is too fast paced to be able to think. 

The soul is linked to the mind and body. 

One false move, or one bad mistake, can affect the whole.

He needs to stay in top shape and be constantly alert. At all times. Which is why some things are better left unsaid.

"I wonder how a Witch's soul will taste," Chan is drooling at the thought.

"Probably like poison, or corrupted magic," Minho smiles. "Wouldn't that be fun?"

"Doubt it. Demon souls themselves are hard to describe. But a Witch's? I bet that's the best."

The forest path became thornier, with them ducking around or under them every now and then. It's so quiet and lifeless out here, the creepy sensation of dread oozes into their bones. They must be getting closer, because a powerful presence suddenly lingers in the air, catching Minho off guard with a chill running through his body. His eyes widen.

Chan notices it. "Something wrong?"

"A Witch..." he says, "This is what a Witch's soul must feel like." Minho stares at the continued narrowing dirt path before them. "It's strong. I've never felt anything like this."

"Are you sure it's a Witch? How can you tell?"

"I think it's coming from my Soul Perception."

Soul Perception is a Soul-Sensing Ability, derived from a Special Art of Magic. The bounds of magic itself draws power from other sources. Whether it be the earth, the shadow forces of Chaos, or even one's soul. Minho learned this when he first enrolled. Ever since he had been a small child, he possessed the natural gift of picking up on another individual's Soul Wavelength. On its own, a Wavelength is invisible to the naked eye, but this is what differentiates a Meister from a normal human. 

Meisters can learn to control their soul, but it's rather difficult to be able to assess another soul's battle capability and type of personality without breaking focus. Only the greatest are able to master it completely. On a very basic level — and with enough effort — he can at least pick up on a person's presence. If their soul is powerful enough, then Meisters able to sense it from far away. In general, it isn't always reliable. There's also the fact that Meisters are able to use their own soul defensively and offensively. 

The offensive part, however, Minho may have learned the hard way.

Weapons, unfortunately, cannot normally obtain this ability of Soul Perception unless they go through Soul Resonance, a linking bond with their Meister that allows them to share each other's Wavelengths. A Soul Resonance is tricky and requires vulnerability, as well as a lot of trust to let another peek into one's soul. This leaves both parties temporarily defenseless. Which is why Minho and Chan never do it anymore. The mental state of both Meister and Weapon must be kept in check and are more prone to outsider manipulation during this process.

Quite simply, it's dangerous.

"If your Soul Perception is right, then," Chan is excited, "let's go fetch ourselves a Witch's soul."

The Pumpkin Forest gets thicker the deeper they go. And Minho isn't quite sure why it's referred to with that name. Actually, he isn't sure why most things get their name. But soon enough, he moves some more branches out of his way that previously blocked his vision. 

He halts, whispering. "There it is. It's coming from there."

Chan whistles impressively at what's directly in front of them. "Never seen anything like that before."

In the middle of the dead forest is a pumpkin mansion. Easily, it has two floors, judging by the numerous glass windows framed in the front on each level, covered by indoor maroon curtains. Directly at the mouth of the pumpkin is the mansion's large brown doorstep, triangular in shape, like if it were menacingly carved out. But on second inspection, Minho is once again astounded by the mansion's fully symmetrical yet round and plump structure, very big, with its green cut-off stem sitting atop.

It's kind of... cute.

They look at each other before approaching further, slowly and steadily. 

"This way," Chan gently pulls him over to the pumpkin mansion's side, with Minho following closely. 

Instead of pathway, they're now stepping on patches of mud, dirtying their shoes. There's a bit of small space between the middle of two curtains at the side window that isn't fully covered, so Minho tries to peek inside. He squints with one eyeball and tries scanning in different angles, but it's incredibly dark. No luck there. The feeling of the Witch's soul is still very near, and he can sense it radiating around him. He ducks under the window, ushering Chan to do the same. 

"I can't see inside. So what's the plan?" Minho whispers. 

"I was thinking just barge inside and announcing we're here?"

"Wait? That was your plan this whole time? Are you even thinking clearly?" His sense of the Wavelength persists at the back of his mind. "I know you're excited, but we need to calm down and think this through. This opponent is more scary than anything we've faced before."

"I could..." Chan thinks for a moment, then he bends down further to pick up a dirty pebble. "I could break the window with this?"

"You can't do that!" he whisper-yells. 

"Why not?"

"I think this house is worth a fortune, I'd feel bad. Preferably, I would want to fight the Witch away from here."

"Minho, really?" 

"What? If the Witch dies, then at least I keep the pumpkin, right? Everyone wins."

"I came here to kill a Witch, not house hunt," Chan sighs, and he stands up. 

He probably shouldn't shatter the glass, after all. Normally, the element of surprise might be a good thing, but this is a Witch they're dealing with. If a Witch is smart, they'd probably act immediately after hearing the shards fly everywhere. He presses his hands against the window with a bit of a forceful upwards motion to try and see if it'll unlock from the outside. It doesn't. 

"I've got nothing. Have you tried focusing in on the Witch's location?"

"I can't. It's too difficult," Minho palms at his forehead in concentration. 

"What do you mean you can't?"

He shakes his head. "Usually the Wavelengths aren't this big. But right now, it's overwhelming me like a tidal wave," he winces, and then he gives up on trying to pinpoint the Witch. "Try to imagine a huge radio transmission emitting from this general area. That's what it's like for me."

That does seem difficult, so Chan looks at the surrounding trees to spot any decent hiding places. "We can try luring the Witch out and then ambushing them?" Although, there doesn't seem to be anywhere to hide efficiently. 

If they hide behind these thin trees, their butts are bound to stick out. So Chan presses his face against the window as if that'll help somehow, trying his best to see.

"Yeah, but how?" Minho stands back up, attempting to look inside again through the opening of the curtains while still maintaining their discreet whispering. "We don't even know if the Witch is aware of us already. And if they are, then they wouldn't fall for something that obvious. Would they be on the first floor? Or the second floor?" he looks up towards the second story's window and then back down to peek inside once more. "Do we do a stakeout anyway?" 

Chan bumps against Minho's arm to try and fight for the little window space there is. "That could take forever," disappointment aligning in his tone. 

If only they could see where the enemy is...

"Yeah, if only you knew where he was," a deep voice agrees. Suddenly from behind, a hand presses on each of their shoulders, causing both of their hearts to drop to their stomachs. They don't dare move a muscle, the surprise of the reverse-ambush forcing them to tense up.

The same deep voice resonates closely to their ears, sending shivers of fear, and without directly looking they can hear the eerie smirk as the enemy talks. 

"Hello, my lovely guests. Fantastic of you to make your entrance for me." 

The mud starts shifting, making Minho and Chan panic. However, before they can move, green vines shoot out from the ground, wrapping up around their legs and constricting them from fleeing. 

"My, my," the deep voice continues, breathing in slowly and triumphantly, "I haven't had a good fight in years. How would you recommend I cook your floating souls when I'm done with the two of you? Should I boil, or bake? At the very least, I'll let you have the freedom to decide," he chuckles. 

Minho side glances at Chan, and Chan does the same. Neither remain calm as Minho tries to claw at the vines around his thighs while Chan attempts to semi-transform his arm into a blade and slash at the vines, but multiple sprout out of the sliced ends and wrap further in swirls over Chan's body to make it worse. So he transforms fully into a scythe, but that doesn't work as the restraining process adjusts, tying him up in his Weapon form. 

They still aren't able to see the Witch behind them, and this situation is going downhill very fast. 

The scythe glows white again, and Chan transforms back to normal, still unable to escape. 

"It was a joke," the deep voice is offended, as if it were obvious. Then the vines move on their own, twisting Chan and Minho around 180 degrees to face the powerful foe. Their pupils grow in surprise. "How rude of me. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Felix," he smiles, his hands courteously placed behind his back.

It's an odd flex more than anything, as it just shows he doesn't need his palms to beat them. In fact, the vines start to tighten of their own free will.

This enemy has swept-back, bright red hair. Wearing a puffy white long-sleeved shirt with a black shiny jewel in the middle, and dark pants and fancy shoes. His freckles warmly stand out on his face. 

"Don't you know it's rude to step on someone's garden?" he scolds them, lips pressing in a fine line. 

Minho stares, rather baffled. "It's mud..."

"Wrong!" he corrects loudly. "It's my pumpkin patch."

"What are you going to do?" Chan challenges. "Kill us?"

"I _could_ ," the man debates it in his head, "But then I'll get blood on my shirt, and I just cleaned it so..." he shrugs. "I'd rather not."

Gritting his teeth, Minho simultaneously grasps onto a set of vines that are on him and Chan, yelling with great determination, _"Soul Shock!"_

An explosion of electricity powered by his soul comes from his palms, blasting a large smokescreen in the area and destroying the vines. Felix doesn't even flinch, merely watching irritably as the burnt ash from his vines fly everywhere. 

Luckily, Soul Shock is a basic type of magic, so it's not enough to hurt either of them. 

The Meister and Weapon jump from above, with now Chan's scythe form being equipped, and Minho lands a couple feet away to put some distance between the enemy. 

Felix rolls his eyes. "Are you all finished yet?"

"We're just getting started!" Minho charges at him, ready to slice away.

The red-haired enemy yawns, and he holds a single palm up. Vines shoot out from the mud and entangle Minho's limbs mid-air. He's stuck. 

"Listen," Felix begins, "I just made dinner, and I would really like to eat. You're more than welcome to join me, or would you rather stay up there for all eternity?"

The scythe glows white, and Chan returns to normal. "Why didn't you just say so!"

After gently putting them down, Felix smiles. "Good. Follow me." They look at each other hesitantly, then proceed cautiously. Felix awaits them at the triangular mouth door. "Feet. Mud. Now," he points to the outside welcome mat. They're forced to clean them awkwardly right there, as if they weren't just trying to murder him seconds prior. 

The triangular mouth is pushed open afterwards, without so much as a squeaky sound or anything. It's a very silent door. 

"Come on in~ !"

They enter, and it's not exactly how they imagined it. There's definitely less orange.

Wooded walls and flooring, a large set of stairs right at the entrance. Pumpkin carvings just randomly scattered about on tables. To the left is a living room, and to the right must be a dining room. At least judging from the little that they can peer into. The whole place is relatively dim, candles aflame in various spots. 

Felix leads them into the right room. And they were correct. 

It's the dining room. And it's huge!

A _long_ table sits in the middle. There's a lit fireplace going off underneath a painting of a headless horseman carrying a pumpkin head. It has a dark-green night sky, full moon being dead-center with twinkles of stars barely visible. Dead trees also surround the mythical horse, oddly familiar of the current one they're in. 

As Minho looks onward, directly opposite of the entrance to the dining room is the side window. 

And.... yeah, that's embarrassing.

It's the same window that Minho and Chan were carelessly peeking into earlier. 

Felix must have been sitting there, eating, and wondering what the hell two intruders were doing stepping on his pumpkin patch. 

"I've prepared a large buffet," Felix chuckles at the silver platters neatly set up, not a single spec of emptiness in sight, "I have a big appetite. Honestly, I would have made more if I knew I'd be having guests over. Pardon the terrible hospitality," his stomach suddenly grumbles. 

All three of them stare at each other. 

"Well anyway," Felix fake coughs to change the mood, "Don't be shy! Come on, sit, sit! I insist!" 

As Minho and Chan reluctantly choose random seats in the middle, Felix chooses the main chair — which is also the biggest — at the very end.

The powerful sorcerer smiles at them, though they're awkwardly far away for being alleged _guests._ Totally not code for _hostages_ or something. Additionally, the subtle darkness of the interior doesn't help, but the candles do provide some semblance of warmth. 

"Let's dig in, shall we?"

The Meister and Weapon nod slowly, clearly doing whatever he says at this point out of need for their survival. Their slightly frightened yet bewildered expressions kind of give that away.

As Felix bites into a fish, a sharp fang is noticeable on his upper mouth. 

It makes Minho raise a brow. If this guy wasn't a Witch, he'd definitely pass as a Vampire. But those are extinct, that would be silly. The silence after a moment makes Minho uncomfortable, so he stiffly turns his head to his Weapon.

Chan is just next to him, mindlessly poking around and avoiding the... _whatever_ that moving green slop is on his plate. 

"Um..." Minho clears his throat. "I like the headless horseman painting," he points at the wall. Great conversation starter.

"Thanks, did it myself," he pridefully gazes at it. 

Minho thinks this is amazing, now he can steer the conversation, "You're a painter?"

"No, I meant I stole it myself."

"Oh," that killed the conversation. 

"But it's one of my favorites. I just love how the painting is so huge it takes up almost the entirety of the wall, don't you think?" 

He nods, forcing a smile. "There's clearly a pumpkin theme going on there." 

"Yes, yes, another one of my favorite things."

Minho hums, "I hope you don't mind by me asking, but what do you do, Felix? Is there a reason you live almost on the outside of Death City all by yourself?"

Felix gobbles down the rest of the fish quickly, only leaving the bone. Then he happily burps, grinning from ear to ear. "No, no, no," he wags his finger. "I ask the questions here first."

This food is terrible. Chan puts down his fork, growing displeased. He thought the dinner would be worth it. "So what do you want to know?" he asks moodily.

"For starters," Felix drinks from a wine glass fancily, "What brings you two to my humble abode?"

"Your soul," Chan states flatly, narrowing his piercing silver eyes at the red-haired enemy. Who is now quite literally licking his palms after the fish and red wine. 

Minho tilts his head in confusion, because that's a _little_ strange but okay. It's his house. Whatever.

"Ah," Felix practically sinks his teeth into another meal. "My soul, yes, uh.." he talks through a full mouth, then he licks his lips. "Why do you want my soul again?"

Chan is starting to grow impatient and a little more angry. "We need your Witch soul in hopes of creating the ultimate Death Weapon. Don't mind us, it's not like it's a big deal or anything," he sarcastically complains.

"I can gladly give you my soul," Felix nibbles at another fish in one hand, while flinging a bone onto an empty platter with the other. Then he pauses, as if realizing something belatedly. "Wait, a Witch's?"

"Say no more!" This time, Chan does not waste anymore time as he jumps at the opportunity with a bladed arm. Literally. 

He's _actually_ already climbing onto the long table, shoes stepping onto the fancy fabric and scattering plates as he lunges forward. 

Felix rolls his eyes, "Halt."

A shattering sound ensues over by the window. And the speed is so quick Minho swears it's a blur as it passes the middle of the table and over towards Felix and his partner. 

Chan gets caught mid-air, yet again. The vines are holding him back from the pumpkin patch outside. 

"I've lost my appetite," Felix yawns. "Both of you. Out," he demands. 

The vines work their magic, pulling Chan back in a heated struggle, with what little breathing room Chan is able to struggle with at least. And it tosses him outside the mansion, letting him land on the mud with a splatter. 

The amber eyes of Felix shine as he narrows his brows. "Shall I kick you out as well?" And he sounds incredibly serious, it's almost scary. 

Minho laughs nervously, pointing towards the general direction of the triangular door he first entered from. "I'll just... see myself out."

As soon as Minho steps out of the pumpkin and goes to the side of the mansion, he makes extra sure that he isn't actually stepping on the mud now, standing safely on the dirt part before it converges into the mud portion. That would be rude, and he's learned his lesson by now. 

Chan sits up, muddied from head to toe.

And ew, a huge pile drips off from his hair, landing with a _gloop_ sound. 

"Are you okay?" Minho asks. 

"Aside from my chance of becoming a Death Weapon slowly slipping away? I guess I am."

"You look like a swamp monster," he can't help himself. It's too funny, so he tries to stifle his laughter.

His partner stares at him. "Whatever, let's just get out of here. Help me up?" he extends his hand out.

"Uh," Minho looks down at the ground, not wanting to move further from there. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"I think I landed wrong," Chan insists, wincing in front of Minho. "Please, just help me off my feet."

"I don't..." Minho hesitates. If his partner is in pain, then he needs to help. "Okay, okay," and he crosses into the mud. "But quickly," once he arrives next to Chan, he takes his hand and pulls. 

Except Chan doesn't budge. It's almost like he refuses, his muscles not cooperating with Minho's assistance. 

Chan looks Minho dead in the eyes, and suddenly Minho knows why now. 

Oh no.

His Weapon partner yanks, pulling Minho down with him, and the Meister lands right on his face in the mud. 

"Okay," Chan smiles. "Now we can go."

This resulted in them both being angry on their shameful walk back to the apartment residence the school gave them. They've had a _long_ night. In hindsight, they aren't ready to face on a Witch after just defeating a banshee.

Tomorrow comes, and the moon is out again. They decide to try a second time, both silently running back into the Pumpkin Forest in the dark hours without making any noise as they arrive on the welcome mat. 

They're Meister and Weapon, after all. They aren't going to stop until the goal is reached. 

The door is locked. 

So they know what to do now.

After a game of rock, paper, scissors it ends in a tie with each choosing rock. Minho glares, but they go again. Another tie, but this round ends in paper. Chan bites his lip. Third time's a charm. They're risking so much by just wasting games here. With both giving a silent nod in agreement, they throw their picks once more. 

Paper vs. rock. The universe decides to give the Weapon's idea a chance, and it makes him smile. He throws a fist pump while Minho face palms. Chan won, so his plan is to break in with the element of surprise. But silently this time, instead of his original suggestion. 

Minho can't help but wonder why Chan is a little too excited in rushing to become a Death Weapon. Is he that much of a bad Meister that Chan just wants to get away from him? Now that they actually know what they're dealing with, it actually stings a little. Because the end of this partnership seems more likely now. Whereas before it seemed more vague. 

Swiftly, an arm turns into a blade. Rather than slicing down the triangle, because that will be a mess waiting to happen, he chooses to carve into the pumpkin itself. One of its orange walls on the outside. The sharp point of scythe smoothly sinks into the pumpkin wall, and he glides it down and then around, forming a large circle. Like if he was torching through steel exterior of a bank heist. Except this is much easier. 

Chan gently pushes on the circle he formed, and it pops out. Or inside the mansion, rather. And it lands with a small thud. Surprisingly, the layer of pumpkin is kind of thick, only very little is actually wood.

"We're in," he whispers.

Minho nods, and he enters after him. 

Once inside, Chan ducks behind a side table. Minho dives for a couch on the opposite side of the lobby to semi-hide. After a couple seconds, they each poke their heads out. Chan signals with a peace sign, and Minho just... stares. 

Chan throws another peace sign, emphasizing... something. 

Minho tilts his head in confusion, mouthing the word, _"What?"_

Chan inaudibly exhales. They're already running into problems. Then suddenly he remembers they never agreed on any hand signs because they were too busy arguing about the mud they tracked into the apartment floors last night, which they had to clean up after. 

This is awkward. 

_"What?"_ Minho mouths again.

Another peace sign. He holds it up high, and Minho is still at a loss. Chan scratches his head. This is harder than he thought. This time, he takes the peace sign and lets his fingers walk along his flat palm, as if it were a person tip toeing. He's trying to get creative here. Then, he balls up the peace sign into a tight fist, and punches down into his palm violently, making small smack sounds. As if Minho is supposed to know this means they now crush the Witch.

But instead, the Meister squints, like if Chan is being ridiculous. 

Minho eventually gives up after several more tries, getting up from the couch and proceeding to walk up stairs. 

"What are you doing!" Chan whisper-yells from his safety by the side table. 

"There's no point in whispering," Minho rolls his eyes, speaking at a normal volume. But it's so quiet in the mansion that it just sounds extra loud for no reason. "Felix probably already knows. Just get this over with."

Chan throws his hands up frustratingly. He cannot stand his partner. After a moment, Minho is already halfway up the stairs, so Chan evidently chases after him. They arrive to the second floor, and nothing so far. 

"Should we go left or right?" Minho thinks out loud.

"Try left?" Chan suggests.

He shrugs. "I'll let you decide everything today."

So with that, Chan ends up pointing left. They go that way. It's a long corridor with many rooms. Interestingly enough, this hallway actually has lights whereas the other parts of the mansion are dimmed down. Felix really needs to be more consistent with that, Minho thinks. 

Most of the doors are locked, except for one. There's a door at the very end of the hallway that is actually slightly open. 

Chan and Minho glance at each other. An opened door in an empty mansion with no Felix in sight? Not strange at all. Definitely not a trap. 

They go there anyway, sticking close to the wall. 

By the time they get close enough, it's just a matter of fighting Felix until someone either gives up or drops dead. This is it. They're aware of the dangers. They know he's strong. But so are they if their teamwork gets serious enough. 

_"Ready?"_ Chan mouths. 

Minho nods, determination flaming in his eyes. They have to do this. They're set on it. 

Chan transforms in a scythe, with Minho grabbing onto it. He takes a deep breath and rushes in, shoving the door wide open. 

It's... a bathroom. 

With a bathtub. And everything. The shower curtains are covering the tub, though. Which Minho finds odd. He gulps, and slowly steps closer. The fear is coursing through his veins. If he dies here, then... he doesn't know. There isn't time to think. He yanks the curtains hard. 

And— It's just a regular bathtub filled up all the way with water. A rubber duck is floating atop, staring at him. 

Minho blinks back at it, "Well..."

A deep voice appears from behind him by the doorway. "Looking for me?"

His eyes widen as he turns around. Not the ambush again!

Felix is standing there, blocking his only exit. His palm is out, very threateningly. "I thought I made it clear that I wanted both of you out of my house."

The Meister's legs are shaking. Felix's Wavelength is intense, and it overwhelms every fiber of his being. Every muscle within him is shrieking to run. 

"First you step on my pumpkin patch. Then you ruin my dinner. And now you made a hole into my home?"

Minho readies his battle position, tightening his grip and hardening his face. Realistically, he knows his chances of winning this are slim to none. He just isn't skilled enough. Not yet. "I'm prepared for the worst. I do apologize that it had to be this way," he pretends to be intimidating. But he knows he's cornered. 

"We'll see how sorry you really are," Felix's amber eyes look vicious, as opposed to their original soft state. "Pumpkin, pumpkin..." he starts to cast a spell, with the scornful vengeance of hell itself, and a vibrant orange ball of light forms at the edge of his palm. 

There's no way out. 

Chan yells from within his scythe, "Minho! Run!"

It's hopeless. Where is he supposed to run to?

_"Pumpkin Halloween Cannon!"_

A sheer brightness and a scary pumpkin face are the last things Minho sees lunge at him before the mansion explodes with a great might. It knocks him unconscious. And he sees black. 

🎃🎃🎃

"Minho! Minho!"

Slowly, Minho's eyelids open. Is he dead? Is it over?

Chan shakes him, and it startles him fully awake into reality. "Wake up!"

He looks around, sitting up and off the ground. "Chan?" And then he looks around some more. The buildings are familiar. They're in the middle of the empty shopping streets of Death City. "How did we get here?"

"I managed to take most of the blow," he explains hurriedly, obviously stressed about something. Chan peers over his own shoulder, anxiety written all over his face. "Then I managed to carry you all the way here under all that blast's smoke. But we have to go, we probably don't have time."

"Probably? What do you mean?" His head hurts slightly. 

"It's Felix— He didn't give up in chasing us."

Oh, that's just utterly terrible luck. They pissed off a powerful creature that wants them dead, and somehow they led him all the way back to the city. Where civilians are. This isn't truly how Minho expected his last battle to go. He expected something more heroic and fulfilling. 

Not collateral damage. 

Minho gets up slowly, with the help of Chan holding him up. His headache is going away. 

"Pumpkin, pumpkin..."

The Meister's face goes pale as he looks up into the sky. 

Felix is calmly sitting over a flying pumpkin, one leg over the other. Literal dozens, or hordes of pumpkins, are following after Felix, as if he is commanding them with his skills. If the end of the world were to look like something, Minho imagines it'd be this right now. 

_"Pumpkin Halloween Cannon!"_

In the nick of time, Chan transforms, amplifying his partner's defenses. 

Minho dodges a shot as it crushes downwards, breaking rubble in its destructive fury. 

The hovering Felix narrows his eyes. He's pissed. _"Pumpkin Halloween Cannon!"_

Another dodge, as it lands down and destroys a vending stall. And another dodge, with the cannon destroying the water fountain in a bang, sending droplets scattering and causing the remainder liquid to pour out. 

More orange rays of death beam down, with Minho smoothly cartwheeling out of their paths. If he were any slower, he'd surely be injured. 

Felix flies after him as he runs. "Enough! No more cat and mouse!"

It sends a chill down Minho's spine. Is he implying that Minho and Chan are just prey to him? Or is he implying something else? He doesn't have time to think about it as he runs into an alleyway. Minho can practically feel Chan's heartbeat. Or maybe that's his own heartbeat telling him to _live._

Some empty pumpkins are zipping and zooming along the streets, rushing into the alleyway behind him. 

Chan is practically screaming from within his Weapon form. _"Run, run, run run run!"_

He sees the exit of the alleyway, passing some junk and a bunch of back doors of closed restaurants and shops, and he's just about to cross over into the other side of the district—

But Felix cuts him off himself, the biggest flying pumpkin blocking the exit. This seems to be a reoccurring theme of getting trapped. 

Quickly, Minho backtracks and steps over a pile of box crates, one by one, getting higher and higher until there's no more. It's not enough to get all the way up to the roof, so he uses the scythe to stab it into the brick of the building, launching himself up like if it were a pole vault. 

He grunts as he lands on the shingles of the roof. And he peeks over to the ground, yanking off the scythe from the side to continue running with Chan. 

The pumpkins elevate more, reaching his level of altitude, and it scares him. He makes a run for it, and jumps over a roof, letting the suspenseful gap of empty space clutch at his heart, and he barely manages to land on another roof nearby. 

Felix elevates by now, and he spots his target. "No more hiding!" he yells. The black gem on Felix's shirt starts to glow, and from within it numerous shadow arms erupt outwards. 

The arms lock onto Minho, chasing him, and he screams for his life as he recklessly leaps from roof to roof. A wandering pumpkin manages to get in his way mid-jump, yet he slices through it easily, and it drops below being split in half. He arrives to a new store's roof and continues making his escape. 

The shadows punch forward, nearly hitting Minho's heels, just barely missing and shattering down on now-smashed shingles. He lands on another roof, but the shadows are smart. They aim for him right as he gains his footing. Smashing down near his foundation. It sends him hurling a bit in the impact, and Minho loses his balance, making him skid off one of the roofs. 

Chan thinks fast and transforms to his normal state, grabbing onto Minho's hand before he completely falls off over the edge. 

Hovering pumpkins can be heard from behind, surrounding the shop they're on. Chan is sweating, and his strength is giving out. He's nearing his limits, especially when a magical cannon directly hit him. Lord Death was right, these types of Wavelengths are hard to counter. And it's way more effective on Weapons than Chan originally thought. It pierces through most of his defenses like paper. 

"Any last words?" Felix has his palm out, ready to attack at any moment. 

"Just..." Chan stutters. "Just take me instead, please."

Felix hums. "Why should I?"

"I'll do anything you want. Anything. Just let him go."

Minho is dangling from the ledge, trying to gain footing somehow from the side wall but failing. "What?" a crack in his voice breaks. "Chan? No!"

Their foe smirks. "What use would I have for you?"

"You'd be able to obtain a Weapon," Chan explains. "Think of the possibilities you'd have. You can obtain more power."

The Meister grabs onto the ledge with his other hand, attempting to get up. 

"No, no," Felix wags his finger. "Not another movement from you," he tells Minho, making him freeze. Then he looks at Chan, intrigued. "Your offer tempts me. But I know you're loyal to your teammate. I wasn't born yesterday. How will I know I can trust you?"

Chan breathes in deeply, and out slowly, looking at Minho's horrified eyes while he does so. "The Soul Bond," he says shakily. "If me and you connect Soul Wavelengths, it'll break the Soul Bond I have with Minho."

"Chan..." He wants to cry. The look of betrayal in Minho's eyes hurts Chan. Obviously, Minho would rather die than have his team member betray him. 

But from a Weapon's perspective, Chan would choose to protect his Meister until the end, ensuring their safety over his. 

That's just how it is.

Felix hums, visibly pleased. "Very well."

"Chan, wait—"

His Weapon looks him in the eye, with a stare of unwavering conviction, a fire. He's determined to see this through to the end. And he lets go. 

He lets go of Minho. 

Minho, who slips off the ledge, falling downwards as he catches another glimpse of Chan now standing up on the roof. 

And then... Minho hits something ungracefully. Or rather, lands on something. 

It's soft, yet also bumpy in some places. But the stench is foul. 

He struggles to push himself up with his elbows, and hops out of whatever container he was in with all his remaining energy. His legs land on the street from the tiny height, and he collapses on his side with a grunt. It's very difficult to stand without Chan's ability boost. After a few cycles of breathing, he rolls once over to the center of the road. This allows him to slowly glance upward. He came out of a literal garbage dumpster. 

Chan dumped him in literal garbage. 

Minho is _furious._ What the fuck. At least have the decency to drop him on a trampoline or something. Not that there's any in the city.

He's really tired. Tired of running. Tired of fighting. Tired of trying. Tired of everything. After another moment, footsteps approach him. As well as the hovering sound from the haunting pumpkins. Minho slowly gets up on his knees, using his hands to lean on the cobblestone street for extra support. He's still breathing heavily from all that mess.

His Weapon stands before him. Along with a satisfied Felix, still arrogantly perched on his large pumpkin like if it were his true throne. 

Minho scoffs, "You say the most unreasonable things, you know that?"

Chan watches his Meister struggle off the ground, until he stands.

"You say you're doing this for me. But you know what? I didn't ask for you to do that, you asshole!"

The corners of Felix's mouth curl as he watches this unfold between the two, and he burts out laughing. His deep voice resonating through the streets. "I'll admit, squeezing the hope out of you brings me great joy." 

Now, Minho glares from Chan to Felix. "And you, you think you're better?" He raises a palm up towards the enemy. Electrical sparks start charging, their crackles and pops enraged. 

"What are you going to do that with puny spell of yours?" Felix snickers through his teeth, "It won't lay a scratch on me."

"Oh yeah?" Minho's palm is shaking, so he uses his other hand to grab onto his wrist to prevent it from doing so. And he readies his aim. "You want to bet?"

"Shoot."

Minho grits his teeth. _"Soul Shock!"_

The electrical zaps burst out, and they pass Felix's head, missing completely and the attack ends up crushing into a store's wall, trailing smoke and dust in its collision.

Felix smiles. "See? You don't have the stamina to keep up."

The Meister shakily steps forward. "You're right..." Then he steps forward again. "But I can at least do, _this_!" He lunges. 

Chan yells for him, extending his hand out, "Now, Minho!"

Suddenly Felix's eyes widen as he feels a pointed blade on his back. How did that get there without him noticing? But it's too late for him as Minho clutches onto Chan's hand, with the Weapon transforming fully. Minho swings the scythe, gashing through Felix's body and splitting the big pumpkin in half. 

The enemy's body caves in on itself, and all that's left is a purple soul floating about. No blood. No big scream in pain. Just sweet silence.

Minho collapses again, but Chan returns to normal and catches him. "Hey! We did it!"

The Meister's breath hitches for a second, as the information processes. They... _did it... !_

They really did it!

Sluggishly, Minho manages to stand by himself. 

Chan rushes over to the hovering soul, and holds it gently with both his hands. He looks at it like it's the biggest star in the universe. "We actually did it, Minho," he whispers, smiling. 

Minho just hums in the peak of the moment, unable to form words, but he's grinning widely. And that's more than enough. He's surprised at himself, to be truthful. He thought he would be more upset, or more unwilling to part ways. Still, he doesn't feel ready to be promoted. It feels too soon.

But then again, is anyone ever _really_ ready for most things? 

If there was a moment that he thought Chan shouldn't obtain this soul, it's gone now. If there was even a split second where he thought Chan would actually betray him, that's gone as well. All Minho can feel is an overwhelming pride for his Weapon. They aren't the closest of friends, but any Weapon deserves this. This moment, right here. Chan deserves this. 

But mostly, all Minho can think about right now.. is two words. 

_...Thank you._

"The problem isn't a person's form," Chan mumbles in deep contemplation, his face still lighting up at the sight of the soul in his hands. But oddly enough, there's a sense of humility in his word choice. Gratitude. "It's about their soul."

"Once you eat that, you can't take it back..."

"Yeah," Chan nods, "I'm about to turn into a Death Scythe." They look at each other for a brief moment, without saying anything. They just silently agree. And sometimes, words don't need to be said. "Here goes nothing.."

The soul gets dropped into his mouth, he savors the moment as it slides down his throat, and finally, it's gone with a content gulp. 

Something shifts almost immediately in the surrounding air. 

"How do you feel?" Minho asks. 

Dust from the street begins to whirl around Chan, like a forming tornado. A power source activating from within him, his eyes turning a slight purple. The sensation flows throughout his whole body. "I feel... I feel..."

Then he burps. 

"I feel nothing."

The wind dies down gradually. No more dust. No more cool purple eyes. Just.. a sulking Chan. 

Minho stares, at a complete loss for words. 

From somewhere below, a deep-voiced _meow_ calls to them, and they turn their heads towards it. A cat with black fur and a cute Witch hat is prowling about haughtily and marching its paws triumphantly. 

"You..." Minho starts, "You wouldn't be... Felix, would you?"

The cat begins to speak, his little amber eyes sparkling in delight. "That would be me," and it surprises the both of them. 

Chan falls to his knees. "My... my chance—"

Felix smiles devilishly. "I never said I was a Witch," he winks.

Minho bends down and coos. "But you're so cute and little. How can something so cute and little have such a big Wavelength?"

"I'm just a regular Cat Witch with a ton of magical power is all," he giggles. "We have, like, multiple lives. You can't kill me that easily."

Currently, they're ignoring Chan mumbling a bunch of nonsense ramblings about his wasted chance. He looks like he's seen a ghost, honestly.

"You know what," Minho scratches under the cat's chin, and he purs, "I don't think I can stay angry at you. I'm sorry about your home, by the way. We kind of destroyed it," he says sadly. "Would you... like to come home with _us?"_

"Well," Felix purs again at the scratching, "I would greatly appreciate it. And plus, I've grown fond of you two. You're very entertaining."

"Just like that? You become friends?" Chan gapes. "Does this mean I devoured 99 souls, and a cat's, for nothing?"

"Cat Witch," the creature corrects.

"Now that you bring it up," Minho thinks out loud, "Lord Death did say if we mess up then all the souls we collected will be _confiscated._ Was that the right word? _Forfeit?_ Something like that."

Chan stares at his partner in disgust. "That means... I'm never getting rid of you, damn it."

Minho scowls at him. With the most soulless expression, and a slight grudge as he speaks. "Next time, I'm dumping you in the garbage."

Now that the moment of false victory is gone, Minho is feeling back to his usual self. And yeah, he now realizes those short-lived thoughts of happiness for Chan when he obtained an alleged Witch's soul weren't real. He was just caught it up in the moment. Deep down, he knows they aren't ready anyway. 

Besides, it's much more fun to just let Chan suffer.


End file.
